Dragon Season
by Akiko Natsuko
Summary: 'Dragons and their children only have one mate in their life, and if the chosen mate rejects them then they will spend their entire life alone.' Disclaimer inside.
1. Chapter 1

Dragon Season:

'Dragons and their children only have one mate in their life, and if the chosen mate rejects them then they will spend their entire life alone.'

Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail or any of the characters.

FTFTFT

It was a perfectly normal day at Fairy Tail – perfectly normal that is, if you could ignore the deep growls rumbling forth from the two male dragon-slayers at random intervals.

"What exactly are they growling about?" Lucy whispered to Erza and Mirajane as the three girls stood at the bar watching the two dragon-slayers warily. The stellar mage had arrived late and in the middle of a particularly vicious snarl from Gajeel which had sent her scurrying to Erza for protection in case he exploded.

"No idea," Mira replied anxiously, eyes moving from Gajeel who was currently slouched in a corner his dark eyes moving around the guild with an irritable expression on his face, across to Natsu who was sat on the other side of the hall staring blankly at the table in front of him, seemingly unaware of the frequent growls that were escaping him. "They don't seem to be growling at each other though," she added thoughtfully, and indeed the two seemed to be completely disinterested in the other – which was both strange (given the growling) and a relief (for the sake of the guildhall).

The rest of the guild were slowly moving away from the two, sensing the potential for an explosion and being all too aware of the destruction that both mages were capable of. Even Happy who had been sat with Natsu had moved away to sit with Cana, eying his oblivious partner with concern and confusion.

"Wendy!" Erza called in relief as she spotted the youngest dragon-slayer entering the hall with Carla in tow. As they watched the girl froze for a second and sniffed the air with a slight frown before glancing at the other dragon-slayers curiously, a second later she nodded thoughtfully before heading for the mages gathered at the bar. Carla followed with a stern expression on her face, although her eyes shifted slightly warily between the two boys as she stayed close to the girl.

"Do you know what's wrong with them?" Lucy asked eagerly as soon as Wendy reached them, gesturing at the two growling mages and flinching slightly as Gajeel snarled.

"They're in season," Wendy explained cheerfully before looking around and taking in the questioning expressions on their faces. "Gajeel's about the right age, but I thought Natsu-san would take a bit longer but maybe it's because they're in such close proximity," she added thoughtfully as she turned to look at them.

"What do you mean?" Lucy asked curiously, although silently wondering if this was something she needed to know more about… in 'season'? That wasn't usually something you thought of in relation to people she thought, however, as the growls rang out again she decided that in this case it might be more fitting. Shaking her head at her own random thoughts she turned her attention back to Wendy.

"Male dragons generally stay away from each other, especially in mating season as they can set one another off. And if they both want the same mate it can lead to fatal battles," Wendy explained softly before looking around at the alarmed expressions on her guild mate's and realising where their thoughts had gone. "That's not the case here though, look at how they're staying away from one another," she added hastily holding up her hands placating, and the others nodded with profound relief… the battle between the two during the Phantom Lord troubles had been destructive enough, the thought of an all-out, to-the-death battle between the two was simply…terrifying.

"So why are they growling?" Erza asked curiously her eyes focused on Natsu. The pink-haired dragon-slayer's growls seemed to have grown in volume and were nearly continuous at this point although his attention still seemed to be fixed on the table in front of him. Gajeel's growls were more spread out, but were equal in intensity when they did ring out and it was making her nervous.

"To warn people away from their mates," Wendy replied innocently, seemingly unaware of the shocked expressions around her as they all stared at the two dragon-slayers.

"Mates?" They all jumped as Gray joined the conversation, not having realised that the ice mage was there, but they all looked at Wendy expectantly causing the girl to sigh as she realised as she was the only one with the slightest idea of what was happening. Silently she wished that the Master was around, after all he seemed to know most things and would've have been better suited to answering their questions; but the guild's master was currently away on a conference so she guessed that was responsible for explaining what was going on.

"Dragons mate for life and dragon-slayers are just the same, once they fall for someone it's that person and no one else," Wendy said softly before gesturing at the two boys. " When dragons or dragon-slayers go into season they have about a week to claim their mate, if they don't or the one they've chosen rejects the bond then they will never bond with anyone," her face grew sad as she said this. Grandine had been rejected by her chosen mate and her foster-mother had always seemed lonely, the pain of that rejection never leaving her. "It's a lonely life if that happens," she added pensively.

"What about if they haven't found a…mate?" Lucy asked with a faint blush – seriously she though, this was way too much information. She also found it odd to think that Natsu – one of the most oblivious boys in the world was going through this; he always seemed to be completely unaware of girls, dating and romance

"Then they will just be really irritable for the week, and they will go into season again every year until they find their mate," Wendy replied with a shrug before giving them a happy smile. "But from the way both of them are acting, they've both chosen someone." As if to emphasise her point another series of growls echoed through the hall, causing the other guild members to shoot slightly nervous looks at the mages and to increase their distance from the two highly volatile mages.

"Well Gajeel's choice is obvious enough," Erza said smiling at Levy who'd moved across to listen to Wendy's explanations after being worried by Gajeel's strange behaviour, causing the little solid script mage to blush wildly and to wave her hands in nervous denial.

"What do you mean?" She asked nervously and Erza smirked before reaching out to push Gray closer to Levy, at once a loud growl rang out from the Iron dragon-slayer. Seeing the dark eyes fixed on him, Gray immediately back away from Levy, shooting a glare at Erza as he did so and getting nothing but a small smirk for his efforts.

"He growls every time a guy gets close to you," Erza replied turning her attention back to Levy and smiling smugly as the group sweat-dropped – only Erza could've noticed that detail whilst being heavily involved in a discussion. "Besides you've been going out for a while haven't you?" She asked casually, smiling as a brilliant blush spread across the other girl's face.

"H…Yes," Levy admitted, deciding that she didn't want to know how the requip mage had found out; they had been attempting to keep it quiet. With a small smile and a very big blush she got to her feet, glancing at Wendy as she did. "Once in a lifetime chance?" She asked and the littlest dragon-slayer nodded nervously as she glanced between the solid script mage and the watchful Gajeel, a faint blush spreading across her cheeks. Levy smiled and squaring her shoulders she marched across the growling Iron dragon-slayer and gave him a quick fierce kiss, halting his growls immediately as his eyes widened. Throwing a cheeky smile at the stunned group the solid script mage held out her hand, pulling Gajeel up when he nervously took it and leading him out of the guild hall.

"Well that's one way of doing it," Lucy muttered, shocked by the usually shy bookworm's boldness but eager for the gossip she knew she'd get at a later date. She had to bite back a grin though as Jet and Droy were gaping after their team member in shock before darkly murmuring about what they would do to the dragon-slayer if he hurt 'their' Levy. She hoped for their sake that they would never feel the need to try and carry out the threats they were making, Gajeel would make mincemeat out of them.

"But what about Natsu?" Erza asked turning her attention to the pink-haired boy, whom was seemingly wrapped up in his own world although an almost continuous stream of growls was escaping him. "He's not seeing anyone is her?" She looked at Lucy as she said this, her eyes curious and a small smile playing around her lips.

"Eh? Why are you looking at me?" The stellar mage demanded seeing the glance and blushing wildly as she noticed that the others were looking at her as well. "We're just friends. What about Lisanna?" She asked thoughtfully glancing at Mirajane who shook her head with a small smile.

"She's not here," Mira pointed out. "She went off on a job with Elfman the other day," she added in explanation and the others sighed – Lucy and Lisanna were top of their list of people whom Natsu seemed even vaguely interested in. Vaguely being the world – to be honest before this they had all presumed him to be completely unaware of girls, or at least unaware of them in that sense.

"Wendy?" Cana suggested looking up from her tankard for a moment, and grinning when the young dragon-slayer squeaked and shook her head violently; but then choking when someone suggested that it was her.

As the girls whispered various names, trying to work out who Natsu's growls were aimed at, they all failed to note Gray slipping out of the guild with a disgruntled expression on his face. All except Mira who noted his departure and the sudden cessation of growls that came with it. She smiled slightly to herself as she glanced across at Natsu, noting the way his head had finally come up, his eyes focusing briefly on the exit before he slumped back in his seat. Although part of her wanted to squeal with delight she figured that this probably wasn't the best time to interfere, so with a secretive grin she turned back to the discussion – shaking her head at the obliviousness of the boys' best friends.

FT

Natsu could hear the debate ranging around him, and it irritated him that no one seemed to have a clue about how he was really feeling…and who he was feeling it for. It didn't help that he was aware that Gajeel had acknowledged his chosen, and she had accepted – it only helped to highlight that his situation was completely hopeless. Irate he got to his feet and headed out of the guild, unwilling to put up with other people whilst he felt like this and reluctant to risk losing his friendship with his mate. He would just hide out at home until the week was out, then they could all go back to how it was…and how it would always be.

FTFTFT

The Next Day:

"Natsu? Natsu let us in!" Erza called banging loudly on Natsu's door, frowning in concern at the lack of response. Glancing across at Lucy she went to reach for her sword, determined to break down the door if she needed to. They had been slightly alarmed when he had disappeared from the guild the day before, but they had decided to give him the day to hopefully cheer up…and stop growling. Now, however, that concern was growing as they stood ignored at his front door.

"Go away!" The sudden cry startled her and she froze, glancing disbelievingly at Lucy who looked equally stunned. Natsu never denied Eza. Never! Even Gray had rebelled more that the dragon-slayer in front of the red-haired girl's wrath.

"Natsu…" Lucy started and there was a snarl from inside the house which caused her to back away slightly fearfully, eyes growing wide as she stared at the door. This wasn't the Natsu she knew.

"I said go away," his voice was more a growl now and they were stunned by the raw emotion in his voice and the two girls looked at each other uneasily. "I don't want to see anyone," he added a moment later and then there was silence, followed by the sound of a door slamming somewhere inside as he clearly moved away from them and deeper into the house.

"What are we going to do?" Happy asked unhappily as he hovered above the two girls, his eyes fixed on the door barring him from Natsu. The fact that Natsu was even ignoring the little exceed being of greater concern to the two mages than anything else.

"I think we should tell the master," Erza said thoughtfully as she released her hold on her sword, clearly bursting in on him at the moment wasn't going to help matters. "He might know how we can help him," she added hopefully; after all Markarov had been the first to know about and believe in Natsu's dragon-slayer magic, so maybe he would have some extra insight to this than Wendy. After all Wendy was a) a girl, b) barely in her teens and 3) relying on information learnt years ago from a dragon that had now disappeared. They would have asked Gajeel but he and Levy had yet to reappear and they had the sense to not try and interrupt them at the moment.

"I'm going to stay here in case he comes out," Happy said as he settled himself down on the door step, the picture of feline concern. Nodding Erza shot him a comforting smile, she knew how concerned the little exceed was – it was practically unheard of for Natsu to shut the cat out, even their most heated spats had never lasted more than a couple of hours.

FT

"I wonder why Natsu won't let on who is mate is?" Lucy asked as the two girls headed away from the house, waving farewell to the lonely figure on the doorstep.

"No idea," Erza shook her head with a sigh. "But Natsu's always been shy about stuff like this, so maybe it's just that?"

"Shy?" Lucy asked disbelievingly, thinking of all the times that Natsu had climbed into her bed, or had walked in on her and seen stuff he most definitely shouldn't have seen. He had always seemed oblivious and she couldn't recall him blushing or being awkward about it – even Gray had shown more awareness than the dragon-slayer and he was the baka that went around seemingly unaware of Juvia's complete infatuation with him.

"He doesn't like to talk about relationships or emotions beyond friendship," Erza glanced at the other girl with an amused smile. "Most of the time he is oblivious." Lucy sweat-dropped at that – how had Erza known what she was thinking? – Then again it was Natsu they were talking about and they both had plenty of experience with his denseness. "But I think it's mainly because he's scared of admitting how in feels in case the other person leaves; he has no idea what happened to his real parents, and Igneel left him – it's a fear that's never really left him despite how close he is to everyone in Fairy Tail.

Lucy nodded thoughtfully, a sad expression on her face as she considered what her best friend had gone through in the past. But still she couldn't really understand not wanting to pursue the person you wanted to be with, especially given what was at stake in this case. Maybe she was just overly romantic or maybe it was her inner novelist but she would never ignore an event like this.

FTFTFTFT


	2. Chapter 2

Sorry for the delay in updating, my laptop died shortly after the last post and I've only just got a new one. As always I don't own fairy tail

FTFT

Four Days Later:

Natsu groaned as he dragged himself towards the kitchen in search of something that would cool him down. He had been feeling increasingly ill over the last few days, but today was the worst; he felt like he was burning up… a strange experience as fire never normally felt hot to him. He could vaguely recall Igneel telling him that this would happen if he stayed away from his mate whilst in season, but he couldn't risk it – he'd rather endure this than risk losing the other mage's friendship. Losing Igneel had hurt, but he had managed to move on – but if he lost the other, he knew that he wouldn't be able to move on.

Shakily he staggered towards the sink, one hand grabbing clumsily at the side to steady himself as he focused on reaching the water. However, the room was starting to spin round him in crazy circles and he ground to a halt as he tried to get his bearings, blinking rapidly as everything moved around him making him feel nauseous. Slowly the world began to right itself and after several minutes he felt safe to move again, but as soon as he moved his legs gave way beneath him and he slumped to the floor with a cry.

Wincing he tried to push himself back up, but the world was on the move again and after a few seconds he slumped back. The floor felt cool against his burning skin and a small sigh of relief escaped him as he pressed himself against it. He knew that he should get up, that in truth he really needed help but at that moment he lacked the strength or will to get up again. With a low whimper of pain he wearily let his eyes flutter shut, closing out the ever moving room and allowing the threatening shadows overwhelm him and drive back the flames.

FTFT

Gray had sulked at home since the day the dragon slayers had gone into season, he had refused to go to the guild just to listen to the debate on who Natsu fancied. It hadn't helped that none of his team-mates had even bothered to come and look for him, or drag him off to do a job…surprising as he was fairly sure Lucy's rent was due soon and he had been partially responsible for the destruction they'd had to pay for on their last job (that thought made him nervous…why hadn't Erza come after him, she was never one to forget or forgive such actions!)

However, after four days at home with no company and apparently no sign of a job he had decided to return to the guild. Although he tried not to think about it, he couldn't help wondering whether Natsu and this mystery girl had sorted out whatever issue had got into the flame-head; that thought made him grimace and his expression was dark as he slipped into the guild. A quick glance around the relatively empty guild showed no sign of any of his team mates; however, it was the lack of the pink-haired idiot that really struck him, it was virtually unheard of for the fire mage not to be in the guild unless they were on a job.

For a moment his thoughts drifted to the idea that maybe Natsu was off somewhere with this mystery mate, however, his eyes then landed on Gajeel. The Iron dragon slayer was sat beside Levy whom was busy studying a book, an almost happy smirk on his face as the small mage leant against him. If Gajeel was already back in the guild it didn't seem likely that Natsu, who lived and breathed Fairy Tail would still be absent.

Frowning slightly he headed towards the bar, although he had to admit he was relieved that he wasn't going to be subjected to the 'guess who Natsu likes game'.

"Where's Natsu?" He asked as he reached the bar, looking expectantly at Mira who was busy tidying up the bar, humming slightly to herself. The Take-over mage turned to look at him and for a second he was worried by the knowing glint in her eyes, but then it was replaced by a worried frown that made him tense.

"He's not been back to the guild since he went into 'season' and he won't let anyone see him either, not even Happy," she said anxiously and Gray scowled at that news. "Erza and Lucy have gone to see the Master about it," Mira added and the ice mage nodded absently, at least that explained their unusual absence but he still didn't understand what was going on with Natsu. Worry prickled at him, this just wasn't like the flame-brain. Without another word he pushed himself away from the bar and headed back out the way he'd come, oblivious to the smirk that Gajeel sent his way or the knowing look on Mira's face.

FT

"Happy?" Gray called as he approached Natsu's house, panting slightly from running through the town in his hurry to see the idiotic, piece of flame that had inconveniently decided to live outside the town! The exceed looked up at his voice and Gray frowned at the unhappy expression on the cat's face, and the concern in the huge eyes.

"Gray? Have the girls come back?" Happy asked jumping into the air and flying across to meet the other mage, a hopeful expression crossing his face although the concern never dimmed.

"I've come to see Natsu," Gray answered halting for a moment to catch his breath. "I don't think the girls are back yet, it's going to take them a while as the conference is further away than last time," he added with a small grin – he had a feeling that the masters had chosen the location for its remoteness and distance from Fairy Tail after what had happened at the last meeting. He spared a brief thought for how the master was going to react to Erza and Lucy turning up, he almost wished he was dare to see it…

"Natsu still won't let me in," Happy said sadly .'And I haven't heard him moving about,' he added glancing up at the house with worried eyes, his wings drooping. Gray followed the cat's gaze and scowled at the exceed's words cranked his concern up another notch, what had got into the pink-haired idiot?

"It's okay Happy," he said reassuringly to the exceed (only wishing that he believed that) before heading for the door. Pounding heavily on it he waited for a response, head craned as he listened for any response… after a few minutes of silence he repeated the action and once again waited. "Fine, if you want to play it that way," he muttered in irritation reaching out and placing his hands on the door handle/lock and summoning his magic, smirking as ice spread over the wood. Glancing up at the watching cat he stepped back slightly and lashed out to kick the frozen part of the door, his smirk growing as the ice and wood shattered under the force.

"Gray…" Happy protested weakly but in truth he was happy that they would be able to get inside and check on his friend (truthfully he had expected Erza to break down the door days before!).

"Come on," the ice mage ordered as he moved forward.

FT

"Flame-brain?" Gray called as he stepped cautiously into the house followed by an uncharacteristically quiet Happy, absently he noted how tidy the place was – remembering his surprise the first time he had been here. The house remained silent and he exchanged a brief worried look with the exceed before moving forwards. The living room was empty, however his eyes widened as they fell on a pair of feet protruding from the doorway leading to the kitchen darting forwards he found himself staring down at Natsu's crumpled form.

"Natsu," slight concern blossomed into full-blown fear as he took in the pitiful state of the collapsed dragon slayer. Natsu was pale, a light sheen of sweat covering his face and he seemed to be panting for breath, an expression of pain etched across his face. The ice mage moved swiftly to his friend's side, dropping down to feel the other mage's forehead and recoiling slightly at the heat coming from the other. Natsu always felt unbelievably hot to the ice mage, but this was overwhelmingly hot and Gray felt the stirrings of fear.

"Natsu," he called gently as he shook the other mage watching hopefully for a response of some sort, when there was no sign of any response he sat back on his heels as he tried to control the strange panic that was threatening to strangle him.

"Go get Wendy," he ordered after a moment, looking up at the frightened exceed who nodded before springing into the air and heading back out the door. Gently Gray scooped up the unconscious dragon slayer and carefully carried him through to the bedroom, frowning at the lack of reaction that the movement brought as he covered Natsu with the blanket. Sighing he sat on the edge of the bed and reached out to place his hand on the fevered brow of the other mage, ice forming around his fingers as he tried to bring the fever down.

"Gray," the weak murmur startled him, but a quick glance showed that Natsu was still out of it – but the dragon slayer leant weakly into the hand clearly enjoying the coolness. A small smile escaped Gray as he stared down at Natsu and absently he reached out to run his hand through the bedraggled pink locks. As he fought the fever it occurred to Gray that he had never seen the dragon slayer ill before – motion sickness didn't count as it was only temporary (and happened all the time!) -, injured certainly but never ill and he found it somewhat disturbing to discover that the other boy could be laid low by illness.

FT

"Gray-san? Natsu-san?" Wendy called as she entered the house followed by Happy and Carla, her nose twitching slightly as she tried to locate the two boys in the unfamiliar house.

"Here Wendy," Gray called his spare hand quickly retreating from Natsu's hair as he blushed lightly, he certainly didn't want to explain his actions to her. She followed his voice to the room, her eyes widening with concern as she took in Natsu's state. The ice mage beckoned her closer although he made no move to move away from Natsu, his hand remaining firmly in place on the other's brow. "He's burning up and he hasn't woken up since I got here," he explained urgently, looking at her hopefully.

"Natsu-san," Wendy called softly not really expecting a response as she moved to stand beside them, however, after a long moment a low growl escaped the unconscious dragon slayer. Wendy and Gray exchanged startled looks and Gray felt a wave of hurt and began to pull away, however, as soon as he pulled away from Natsu the dragon slayer whimpered slightly and the ice mage froze at the sound. Tentively he reached out again to touch the fire mage and the whimpering ceased immediately and Wendy gasped looking wide-eyed at the two, a slight blush on her face. "Um…"

"Can you help him?" Gray asked seemingly oblivious to her discomfort his dark eyes fixed on Natsu's face, icy fingers gently running over the other's feverish brow.

"I don't think so," Wendy said nervously waving a cautious, glowing hand over Natsu and blushing wildly when he growled again. "I think it's a reaction to not letting himself go near his mate. Grandine said that just being near the mate would help stabilize them during the mating season, even if nothing came from it," she explained and Gray sighed, running a hand across his face as he stared down at Natsu in concern – the flame brain was making himself ill? Why? The ice mage wondered what could be so bad that it would prevent the other boy from seeking out his mate.

"So we need to work out who it is?" He asked, and the girl sighed as she heard the undertones of jealousy in the ice mage's voice – how could he be so blind? She fought the urge to giggle as she thought of all the times that Gray had berated Natsu for being oblivious to blatantly obvious things and tried to think of what to say.

"Um…" She hesitated and he turned to look at her questionly and she blushed even more; this was definitely not a situation she had envisioned finding herself in and she wished that Erza or Lucy were here as they would probably have caught on by now and would know how to explain it to the ice mage.

"What?" Gray demanded, anxiety making his voice harsh as he turned to stare at her – ignoring the annoyed huff from Carla at his tone of voice.

"I think… I think it might be you Gray-san," she blurted out finally turning bright red and he gaped at her, ignoring the gasps from the two exceeds standing in the doorway as he stared wide-eyed at her for a moment.

"Me?" Gray asked disbelievingly glancing at Natsu – he frowned, he certainly hadn't expected the other to feel the same and if he did why had he fought the bond to the point of collapse? Especially if just being close could ease the pain. "Then why…?" He didn't finish the question but a knowing look passed over Wendy's face.

"Fear maybe?" Wendy said gently looking at the two boys with a small smile. "Gajeel and Levy were already sort of going out so it was a natural progression, whereas Natsu was probably scared of losing you. Better to have you as a friend than not at all, and with the added pressure of what being a dragon's mate entails he probably thought that this was the best way to deal with it." She shook her head at that though, personally she thought they were both being idiots, but in a way she could also understand Natsu's fear. It was a fear that all the dragon slayer's harboured, fear of being abandoned by those that had filled the holes that had been left behind by the disappearance of their foster parents.

"Idiot," Gray said softly glancing down at Natsu before looking back at the girl with worried eyes. "So what now?" He asked uncertainly – this was not a situation he had envisioned, even when he had tried to imagine how he could tell the other how he felt, and now he felt completely lost with how to proceed.

"It's up to you," Wendy replied softly. "Natsu's in no condition to make that choice, and he wouldn't anyway. The choice is always in the hand of the one that has been chosen," she added with a gentle smile at the wide-eyed expression on the ice-mage's face. Gently patting his arm and grinning at the growl it provoked from the unconscious dragon slayer she moved towards the door and gently shooed the two exceeds out ahead of her, leaving the confused ice mage alone with the dragon slayer.

FT

For several long moments Gray sat immobilized, one hand resting on Natsu's forehead as he stared blankly at the other mage. His emotions felt like a whirlwind in his chest and he was finding it hard to focus on one thought above the other, Wendy's words echoing, tauntingly in his head. _Dragon's mate for life and Dragon Slayers are the same… if the mate rejects the bond then the dragon remains alone for the rest of their life…scared…better to have you as a friend…_ _It's up to you…_ He had to decide? He took a shaky breath as he tried to steady himself, but he could feel his hands trembling and his heart pounding…this was definitely not what he had expected – this had not even entered his craziest thoughts.

"Gray," the whisper startled him out of his thoughts and he jumped slightly, focusing he realised that Natsu's eyes were slightly open although barely more than slits. Relief rose in him at this sign of awareness and he smiled encouragingly at the fire mage.

"Hey Natsu, how are you feeling?" He knew that it was a silly question, but it was the only thing he could think to ask without treading into murky territory regarding their relationship.

"Gray I'm sorry," the dragon slayer whispered seemingly unaware of the ice mage's words, and Gray was stunned and more than a little unnerved to see tears glistening in Natsu's eyes; He hadn't seen the other boy show tears since they were young children.

"What are you sorry for?" Gray asked softly as he reached out to brush away some of the tears that had escaped, scared by such a sign of vulnerability from the other. Natsu was never this vulnerable, and it terrified the ice mage to know that he was unknowingly responsible for it; it also hammered home the truth in Wendy's words.

"P-putting you…" Natsu's voice trailed off as the weakened dragon slayer dozed off again before he could finish, tears still glistening on his cheeks. Sighing Gray carefully wiped away the evidence of the tears. _It's up to you – _Wendy's voice taunted him and he shook his head with a groan_._ Clearly Natsu wasn't going to take the first step, and Gray frowned as he realised that they were coming up on the end of the week – if they didn't do something soon then Natsu would be left to suffer. That thought clenched in Gray's heart and he stood decisively, the instinctive whimper from the sleeping mage due to the loss of contact reinforcing his decision.

Quickly he kicked off his shoes and peeled of his shirt, before pulling back the covers and slipping in beside the feverish dragon slayer. Rearranging the covers he gently slipped his arms around the other mage pulling him against him so that Natsu's burning skin was tight against his own cooler skin, smiling as he felt Natsu unconsciously snuggling closer.

"I love you, you flame-brained idiot," he murmured softly holding the other close and allowing the overwhelming heat to lull him off to sleep.

FTFTFTFT


	3. Chapter 3

Thanks for all the reviews folks! Again I have merely borrowed Fairy Tail.

FTFTFT

Gray woke a while later slightly disorientated as his eyes wandered lazily around the room, widening as he realised that he wasn't in his own room. A soft sound made him twist slightly in surprise, memory rushing back as his eyes fell on Natsu a small smile escaping as he gazed down at the sleeping dragon slayer. Natsu was curled up in a small ball against the ice mage's side, his face lax with sleep.

Gently so as not to wake the sleeping mage he reached down and felt the other's forehead, scowling as he realised that Natsu's temperature was still overly high. He had hoped that just by being close to Natsu he would help alleviate his condition, but it seemed as though it was going to take more than just close proximity to him and his ice to get rid of the fever ravaging the fire mage.

Quietly Gray slid out of the bed and padded softly across the floor, pausing briefly in the doorway to glance back at Natsu who'd shifted immediately across into the hollow left from Gray's body a slight frown on his face as he buried his nose in the covers. Shaking his head slightly the ice mage headed for the bathroom, maybe a cool bath would help get rid of the fever properly – he sped up, reluctant to be away from Natsu for too long.

Once the bath was run he headed back through and gently shook the other boy awake.  
"Gray?" Natsu asked sleepily and a quick glance at the hazy, slitted eyes showed that he wasn't fully aware of what was going on; however, he allowed Gray to carefully lead him through to the bathroom, a trusting expression on his face. The only trouble came when Gray tried to ease him into the bath, as the sensation of cold water against his burning skin caused Natsu to cry out and to try and writhe out of the firm hold.

"Woah Natsu," Gray admonished as he restrained the dragon slayer, worried by how easy it was for him to hold the other mage in place. Scowling he swiftly scooped the dragon slayer up and deposited him in the bath before the disorientated boy could react, blanching as Natsu cried out again.

"It hurts," Natsu whimpered as the cold water lapped against his burning skin and Gray tensed at the pain in the other boy's voice, eyes darkening as he noticed the tears forming at the corner of Natsu's eyes.

"Easy Natsu," he said soothingly as he scooped up more water to pour over the feverish mage, holding Natsu in place as he writhed wildly. "I know it hurts, but it's going to help I promise," he added, forcing himself to continue even though he knew that it was hurting the other boy.

After a long ten minutes of whimpering and pained cries Natsu finally stilled as he passed out, Gray reaching out automatically to reposition the other boy so he wouldn't drown. A quick touch showed that the fever was still high, so he carried on pouring the cool water over the other, relieved by the cessation of pained cries – he had felt like a monster continuing to cause Natsu pain when the other had been crying out, even if he knew that he was helping.

It was another ten minutes before Natsu's temperature had come down to an acceptable level, and Gray was quick to rescue the fire mage from the bath and to carefully dry him and redress him – he didn't want the other catching a chill on top of everything else. Carrying the other boy back through to the bedroom he carefully resettled Natsu on the bed, pulling the covers tightly over him before sitting back with a sigh. A quick glance at the window showed that it was dark out and he guessed that they had slept the afternoon away; briefly he wondered what Wendy and the exceeds had said to the rest of the guild but then he shrugged, the guild would find out sooner or later.

FT

A light rumble informed him that he hadn't eaten since that morning and with a last worried glance at the dragon slayer he got back to his feet and headed in search of food. To his relief he found that the cupboards were relatively well stocked, an unusual situation he knew for the dragon slayer – who as well as having a huge appetite was rarely at home and therefore never saw the point in keeping much food around (plus it gave him an excuse to either go to the guild more or to plague Lucy).

He was halfway through a hastily constructed snack when he heard faint noises coming from the direction of the bedroom and at once he was out the door, food laying half-eaten and already forgotten on the side. He paused in the doorway as he took in the restless movements of the bedridden mage, but it was the low whimper that spurred him forwards with a muttered curse at his own stupidity.

"Shhh I'm here," he said reassuringly as he hastily slid back into the bed, making sure that the dragon slayer was properly covered before slipping his arms around the other boy. At once the soft noises of distress stopped as Natsu rolled over to bury his head against the ice mage's chest, a faint noise of contentment escaping him as he subconsciously registered the familiar scent. Gray sighed with relief at how easily the other had settled, but was at the same time berating himself for leaving Natsu alone given the situation.

FTFTFTFT

Gray stirred as he felt movement in his arms, his eyes shooting open in mild alarm as he registered the warm body shifting against his. Dark eyes quickly scanned the room as his sleep addled mind reminded him that he was still at Natsu's and with that realisation he turned towards the warm body beside him.

"Natsu?" He asked as memory came rushing back to him and the dragon slayer froze in his arms, he smiled as the other mage twisted so that they were looking at one another, his eyes softening as he took in the brilliant blush gracing Natsu's face. He had never seen the other so flustered before and he silently had to admit that the other boy was incredibly cute in that moment.

"Gray?" Natsu's voice was weaker than usual and held a conflicting mix of fear, confusion and hope; his olive eyes flicking around nervously as he tried to avoid the other's gaze, clearly uncertain of what to do...or what had happened. Gently Gray tightened his hold causing Natsu to tense nervously and actually meet his gaze uncertainly, his face growing even pinker, olive eyes wide with confusion.

"How are you feeling?" Gray asked in concern trying to ignore the squirming in his stomach as he stared down at the blushing mage – the fire mage wasn't as abnormally hot as he'd been earlier, but he still felt hotter than usual and his face was still unusually pale, with dark rings under his eyes indicating that he still needed more rest.

"Better… thank you," Natsu replied hesitantly.

"You're an idiot you know that?" Gray said in fond exasperation and the other boy looked away uncomfortably, clearly unsure of what to make of this. "You should have told me," he admonished and Natsu looked back at him with an agonised expression on his face.

"I was scared," Natsu muttered and Gray sighed softly. "I didn't want to lose you. I was scared that if I told you, you would leave." _Like Igneel._ The words were unspoken but Gray could hear them anyway and his heart ached for the pain that Natsu had gone through both in the past, and during the last week. Still he knew the truth now, and he could help take some of that pain away… he could make it so that he never had to see tears in those eyes ever again.

"You know even if I hadn't accepted that you had chosen me as a mate I wouldn't have let you suffer if just being around me would have helped," he said gently with a smile as Natsu's eyes grew wide at the implication in his words, hope clear in the expressive olive orbs as the fire mage gaped at him.

"You mean…I…we…" Natsu's words came out in a jumbled mass as he tried to figure out what he wanted to say, the surging emotions in his chest not helping him as he finally gave up and simply stared at the other mage.

"You know I was so jealous when Wendy explained what was happening the other day, and everyone was so busy trying to work out who you were growling about," Gray said absently, slightly amused by the fact he had managed to render the other boy speechless for once. "Especially when she said that you would never be able to like anyone other than that person." His smile grew now as he looked back at Natsu who was still staring at him wide-eyed, realisation in his eyes as he absorbed the words.

"How long…?" Natsu asked finally.

"I think since Galuna," Gray said thoughtfully, one hand absently moving up to lace its fingers through Natsu's hair drawing strength from the other's presence. "Maybe a bit before, but I think I realised fully when you stepped in between me and Deliora." The ice mage scowled briefly as he remembered the sheer terror he'd felt when the other boy had stood in the way of the iced shell spell, and then when he'd refused to dodge the incoming blow… he had thought that he was about to see a repeat of the demon tearing everything away from him and in that instance he had realised that he needed Natsu to be there beside him. And since then every situation they'd got in where the reckless, fire-brained idiot had got himself into trouble or put himself danger had dredged that same fear up, to the point where it was nearly overwhelming.

"So long," Natsu whispered softly a small smile appearing on his face, and Gray refocused forcing away his dark thoughts. "Doesn't that mean we're both idiots then for waiting so long?" He asked with a trace of his usual attitude and Gray chuckled lightly, relieved by this sign of normality – this was the Natsu he knew and…loved.

"Maybe but I still think you're the bigger idiot," he teased and the other boy pouted slightly, an effect ruined slightly by the large yawn that escaped him a moment later. "You should get some more rest," Gray said with some concern and Natsu nodded slightly before glancing up nervously.

"Will you stay?" He asked shyly and Gray smiled before dipping his head to give the startled dragon slayer a quick chaste kiss on the lips.

"Always," the ice mage whispered smiling wider as Natsu reached up in surprise to brush his lips where Gray had just kissed him, blush at full force now. Clearly unsure what to say Natsu settled for snuggling closer to Gray, a contented hum escaping as Gray slowly rubbed a hand over his back, his eyes slipping shut quickly. Gray smiled at the small snores escaping the other mage before carefully settling down himself, allowing himself to doze off again as well as he bathed in Natsu's presence.

FTFT


	4. Chapter 4

FTFT

Next Day:

"How are you feeling?" Gray asked anxiously as he slipped into the room, two plates of food balanced precariously in his hands as he fought briefly with the door before turning to look expectantly at Natsu. The other mage was still sprawled in bed, but his eyes were open and clear of any sign of fever and colour had returned to his face.

"I'm fine," Natsu offered with a small smile. "Thanks to you," he added and Gray smiled as he moved across to the bed and handed the dragon slayer the food before settling down beside him.

"Eat all of it," he ordered sternly as he looked at the other mage, who rolled his eyes before tucking into the food with his usual enthusiasm a sight which pleased Gray no end. The ice mage started on his own breakfast with slightly more decorum than the ravenous dragon slayer, although he kept one eye pinned on the other mage at all times.

"Are you up for going to the guild?" Gray asked once they were both done, frowning as he felt the dragon slayer tense slightly; however, when he glanced at the other mage Natsu smiled and nodded.

"Sure," he said with a shrug but Gray could detect the undertones of reluctance in Natsu's voice and he turned to look at him fully – it was unlike the other mage to stay away from the guild; and his reason from the past week was no longer relevant so what was it now.

"What's wrong?" He asked suspiciously, eyes narrowed as he pinned the other boy with his gaze causing Natsu to squirm slightly. "Don't you want to tell the others?" He added a pit forming his stomach as he asked this, the thought that Natsu might want to hide 'them' from the others hurting more than he thought it would. He wanted to tell the world – if only so he didn't have to put up with anymore of the ridiculous speculation over who was Natsu's 'girl'.

"What?" Natsu responded with honest confusion in his voice as he stared at the other mage for a moment, before it clicked. "Of course I want to tell everyone," he protested and his olive eyes were so intense that Gray could only nod in acceptance, "I want J…everyone to know you're mine."

"So what is the problem?" Gray asked again, aware that he was blushing slightly at the intensity of the other's response and also making note of the slight slip that Natsu had made; there was definitely a story there and he would make sure to get it out of the other at a later date.

"It's nothing, I'm just being silly," Natsu said after a long moment and the tone of finality in his voice told Gray that he wasn't going to get any answers anytime soon, he sighed in exasperation – damn the dragon slayer for being so stubborn (he chose to conveniently ignore the fact that he, himself was easily as stubborn as the fire mage).

FT

Everyone in the guild looked up as the door opened, eyes widening as the two usually bickering mages entered slowly hand in hand. The only ones that didn't look surprised were Mira, the other dragon slayers and the exceeds; in fact Gajeel was smirking smugly from his seat beside Levy – especially when the solid script mage squealed in delight looking at the two boys.

"So I was right, congratulations you two," Mira said with a huge beaming smile breaking the silence that fallen over the rest of the guild and causing the two boys in question to blush, especially at the other guild members finally coming out of their surprise and raising their drinks to congratulate the pair.

The only person that didn't look happy was Juvia who had been gob-smacked when the pair had walked in…how could she have missed that Natsu was also a rival for Gray's love. Blue eyes glistening with tears she sidled towards the object of her affections, an action noted by both boys. Feeling Natsu tensing slightly beside him Gray sighed and held up a hand to stop her, onyx eyes gentle as he looked at the girl.

"Juvia please understand that I'm with Natsu now. I've always considered you as a friend, nothing more," he said gently – after all he didn't want to hurt the girl, but neither did he want her hanging around all the time (Natsu had admitted that she had been the reason more than anyone for his growling in the guild on the first day, because she had always been lurking nearby.)

"But Gray-sama," Juvia wailed and Gray sighed opening his mouth to reply when a fierce growl erupted beside him and he whirled around to stare at Natsu who was glowering at the girl, his teeth bared in a fierce snarl. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Wendy and Gajeel tense, eyes locked intently on the pink-haired dragonslayer.

"Natsu," the ice mage was stunned as he'd thought the dragon thing was over, however, the possessive gleam in Natsu's eyes said otherwise. Juvia backed away, paling as she took in the fury on the dragon slayer's face. "Natsu," Gray repeated softly as he stepped between the two, reaching out to touch Natsu's cheek and causing the fire mage to meet his gaze, the growl dying away quickly as a blush spread across his cheeks (generating squeals from the other girl's present –although Mira's was by far the loudest).

"I'm sorry," Natsu mumbled looking down and Gray sighed, now he was getting why Natsu had been so reluctant to go to the guild – clearly the other boy still wasn't comfortable with others being around. Although maybe it wasn't people so much as Juvia he had to admit, noting with a sense of relief that the water mage was slipping out of the door although he was concerned by the tears pouring down her face.

"It's not your fault," Gray reassured him. "Do you want to go home?" He asked anxiously, and Natsu looked up hearing the worry and then glanced around at the watching guild for a moment and meeting the worried gaze of the other two dragon slayers before slowly shaking his head.

"Just stay close," he whispered quietly so that only Gray and the keen-eared dragon-slayers would hear, the ice mage nodding with a small smile before leading the other boy over to where Gajeel and Levy were sat – figuring that they were some of the safest people to sit with for the time being.

FT

"Lu-chan is going to be so excited," Levy gushed as they sat down and Natsu blushed again causing Gray to grin – he'd never realised just how easy it was to embarrass the flame-brain and he was looking forward to using it to his advantage in the future.

"Where are Lucy and Erza?" Natsu asked looking around and suddenly realising that they weren't anywhere in the guild, frowning as he recalled yelling at them when they had come to visit him – he would have to apologize he thought with a sigh otherwise Erza would probably kill him.

"They went to see the Master because we didn't known how to help you," Happy said as he flew across to join them, relieved beyond belief to be greeted with a smile by Natsu." They should be back soon," he added thoughtfully.

"Erza's going to kill me," Natsu murmured with a groan staring at the cat in horror. "Going all that way for nothing? I was already going to be in trouble but now…" He trailed off staring into the distance as his imagination conjured images of the various punishments the red-headed girl could inflict on him.

"Why what had you done?" Gray asked curiously as he tried to think of what Natsu could've done to annoy Erza this time – they hadn't fought for a while so it wasn't that, so what else could he have been up to?

"I kind of…sort of yelled at them when they came to my house a few days ago," Natsu confessed not looking at Gray who was gaping at him in disbelief, almost wishing that he could have the seen the expression on Erza's face when Natsu denied her…almost…

"He growled as well," Happy put in helpfully, causing Natsu to groan and shoot a half-hearted glare at the exceed which the cat blissfully ignored.

"I'm sure Erza will take into account what was happening," Gray said encouragingly and Natsu looked at him hopefully, and Gray had to smile at how pitiful the other boy looked just from the fear of Erza's rage (he would never admit that he would wind up looking the same if the requip mage's rage was turned on him). Deciding that it was best to take Natsu's mind of the possibility of his impending punishment the ice mage turned and engaged Levy in a discussion about the book she was working on.

FTFT

Gray looked down as he felt a sudden weight against his side, and sighed as he realised that the dragon slayer had dozed off beside him. Ignoring the lull in the conservation caused by his distraction he gently reached across to brush a hand across Natsu's forehead to check that the fever hadn't come back, but the skin beneath his fingers was at its normal warmth. Relieved the ice mage leant back against the wall and gently pulled the sleeping dragon slayer against him so that he was in a more comfortable position, resolutely ignoring the amused gazes of his guild-mates and the contented squeal from Mira.

"Is he okay?" Levy asked with concern and Gajeel also seemed to focus on them for a second, although he maintained an expression of disinterest.

"He's fine just tired," Gray said softly as he glanced down at the sleeping boy. "He was really ill yesterday and last night though," he said glancing across at Wendy for a second and the youngest dragon-slayer smiled nervously at him. Sensing that this was veering into more personal stuff the others quickly changed the topic, the solid-script mage batting at Gajeel as she tried to explain something about her book causing him to roll his eyes. However, they all kept an eye on the new couple, smiling when Gray dozed off a short while later leant against the sleeping dragon-slayer with a contented expression on his face.

FTFT

"Has anyone seen Natsu?" Erza demanded urgently as she strode into the guild followed by Lucy and Makarov; they had just been to the dragon slayers house and had found the broken front door and no sign of the mage himself.

"Shhh," Mira said with a smile as she moved across to greet them, seeing the annoyed, impatient look on the other girl's face she turned and pointed to the other side of the hall. "They've had a long couple of days," Mira explained as the warrior girl stared slightly wide-eyed at the two sleeping mages, her sharp eyes taking in the way they leant against one another and slipping down to their joined hands.

"What's going…eh?" Lucy had come forward and was staring in shock at the two boys, shaking her head she turned to look at Levy who was watching her actions with a broad grin, meeting her gaze the solid script mage gave a brief nod and beamed happily.

"Master, how was the conference?" Mira asked cheerfully, watching the reactions with an amused smile.

"Quieter than the last one," Makarov answered and Erza and Lucy blushed at that, as they had been involved in the chaos that had interrupted the last one. "Although I am curious as to what is going on here?" He asked looking at the two sleeping mages, and then turning his gaze to Gajeel and Levy and then to the two girls that had come to disturb the conference because of their concern for Natsu's wellbeing. "Clearly Natsu is okay now?"

"Gray is Natsu-san's mate," Wendy piped up from her seat beside Levy, a bright smile on her face before she returned her attention to Reedus whom was busy painting the two sleeping mages.

"But… I am so confused," Lucy said, quietly moving forward so she could see the two sleeping boys better; frowning slightly at noticing that Natsu looked slightly unwell. "How did this happen?" She asked gesturing at the two.

"It's been there for a while," Mira replied with a smile. "Haven't you noticed that they've been fighting less and less lately?"

"Now you mention it I had noticed it," Erza said thoughtfully as she also came to join the group. "But I thought it was because we are on a team together and they were trying to avoid getting into trouble with me." She smiled as the group around her sweat-dropped.

"I figured it out when Gray stormed off when you lot were trying to work out who Natsu was growling about," Mira went on cheerfully laughing at the groans that accompanied this, as they all realised that they had been had. "And no-one noticed that Natsu stopped growling as soon as Gray left."

"It was close though," Wendy spoke up again this time sounding serious as she turned to look at the Master, Lucy and Erza. "Natsu-san made himself ill by staying away from Gray, if Gray hadn't gone to check on him then this would never have happened." Wendy gestured at the two and shook her head at the denseness they had both displayed, before smiling again as she stared at them – they were adorable.

"That idiot," Erza growled glaring at the pink-haired boy, although her expression softened as they watched the dragon slayer shift slightly in his sleep curling closer to the ice mage with a contented expression on his face.

FT

"What's going on?" Elfman called as he and Lisanna strode into the guild, the pair moving across to the gathered mages curiously to see what was happening.

"Natsu and Gray are together," Levy said cheerfully looking at the two takeover mages with a smile, swatting at Gajeel as he groaned at the continuation of the romantic talk – sighing he pasted a look of false interest on his face, resigned to his fate.

"Well that explains why Juvia was trying to drown herself in her own tears," Lisanna said with a grin as she bounced forward to peer at the two boys. "They make such a cute couple," she squealed looking up at her sister and grinning as Mira nodded with a beaming smile, which was replaced by a look of concern as she turned to look properly at her sister.

"You're not disappointed?" Mira asked softly and Lisanna giggled, causing Lucy and the others nearby to look at her curiously as they were also interested in her answer.

"Natsu has only ever been my friend," the youngest take-over mage said with a smile as she saw all the looks being sent her way. "I knew from how he reacted to jokes and stuff about relationships that he was never going to like me in that way." A brief flicker of sadness went through her eyes but it disappeared quickly as she looked at her friends.

"Why are you all staring at us?" Gray said irritably as he jerked awake to find their friends gathered around them watching curiously, he chose to ignore the fact that Reedus was busy painting away (after all he could steal a copy of the painting at a later date).

"We're just so happy," Lucy said with a smile and a faint blush tinged the ice mage's face, before he turned his eyes to the sleeping Natsu. He was relieved to note that the dragon slayer wasn't reacting to the close proximity of their guild mates, hopefully that meant that they could get things back to normal now… as long as Juvia didn't provoke him, he amended with sigh, acknowledging that Natsu wasn't likely to be easy around the water mage for quite a while.

"Oi flame brain," he said softly nudging the sleeping mage, deciding that he wasn't going to deal with all the stares and squeals on his own. Reluctantly Natsu stirred, yawning widely and reaching up to rub blearily at his eyes before opening them and peering round at the watching faces. Silently Gray counted to three in his head, and smirked when right on schedule the brilliant blush he had become so fond of appeared on the other boy's face.

"What's going on?" Natsu asked waking up more now and sitting up straighter although he didn't move away from Gray's side.

"They were watching us sleep," Gray filled him in and Natsu blanched in embarrassment before glowering at their friends.

"Perverts," he muttered before his gaze moved across to Erza and he paled. "Sorry for growling at you earlier," he said hastily as he saw her stern expression; she glared at him for a moment longer (causing him to tense and sweat in fear) before relaxing with a smile and a nod.

"I'm just glad you're okay now," She said and he smiled as his eyes slid across to Gray who met his gaze with a warm smile of his own.

"I'm better than okay," Natsu responded softly, the pink on his cheeks deepening as he spoke causing Gray to chuckle beside him.

FTFTFTFTFTFT


	5. Chapter 5

The rest of DS will be oneshots/short stories about Natsu and Gray.

This is a rewrite of chapter 5 – with extra details added. The next new chapter should be up in day or two.

FTFT

_The loud rumble of rocks broke through Gray's focus, and wide onyx eyes darted away from his enemies for a second as he registered the rocks tumbling towards him. Instantly he realised he didn't have time to dodge, and instinctively he brought his hands together in an attempt to conjure a shield._

"_Gray! Move!" The panicked cry distracted him, and the next thing he knew he was flying through the air. His yelp of surprise was hidden by the huge crash behind him, and his eyes widened as he heard a painfully familiar cry of pain. _

"_Natsu!" He sprang to his feet ignoring the slight ache his short flight and rough landing had caused, eyes frantically seeking out the other page. His stomach twisted as he found the fire-mage sprawled on the floor, his dark eyes noted the pained expression on the other's face before tracing his body back and scowling as he realised that the other was partially trapped. That Natsu wasn't trying to instantly escape and rejoin the battle told the ice mage that he was injured, and Gray felt a surge of fear run through him._

_Movement out of the corner of his eye reminded him that there were still mages standing, and with a surge of fury he whirled on them, eyes ablaze with power._

"_Ice Make: Lance," His magic sizzled around him reacting to his anger and fear, and he watched with grim satisfaction as his attack took out the remaining mages. Checking that they were out for the count, he spun and dashed to his boyfriend's side. "Natsu?" He dropped to his knees by the dragonslayer, and warm olive eyes met his frantic gaze._

"_I'm alright," Natsu said reassuringly, although the effect was somewhat ruined by the pain on his face and the fact that he was still making no moves to free himself. _

"_Sure you are," Gray muttered with irritation before turning his attention to the rocks trapping the other boy. "Stay still, I'm going to move these off you," he said firmly as he got to his feet and moved to the rocks, cautiously planning the best way to shift them without them all collapsing on them._

"_Be careful," Natsu said twisting his head to see what the other was doing, and wincing as he inadvertently moved his injured lower body._

"_I said stay still idiot," Gray growled, angry at the other mage for worrying about him when he was the one trapped and injured. Gritting his teeth against the urge to yell at the mage…at least for now… he began to slowly move the rocks away, noting with a twinge the sharp intakes of breath that indicated the pain he was causing the other mage…_

FTFT

Several Days Later:

The early morning peace of the guild was broken by the loud slam of the front door as it burst open, startling the few guild members that were present.

"Idiot, what on earth were you thinking?" The loud voice rang through the air and the guild

Members twisted in their seats to watch as an obviously infuriated Gray helped a limping Natsu into

the building. They were surprised by the level of anger the ice mage was showing, especially as the two had stopped arguing as much since they'd started dating; however, noting how the fire-mage was wincing as he moved and the way he leant most of his weight on the other gave them some idea as to why the ice mage was riled.

"I was thinking that I shouldn't let you get crushed!" Natsu retorted half-heartedly as he lent on the

other mage, his voice lacking any anger as he listened to the furious mutters escaping from his

boyfriend. "I'll be healed up in no time," he added reminding Gray of his boosted healing abilities in the hopes it would calm the other, instead he was shoved none to gently onto an empty bench with Gray towering above him, onyx eyes blazing. Around them the other guild members began to inch away in case a brawl broke about between the bickering pair; as they had learnt in the past few months the 'real' fights between the two could be fairly explosive.

"If you were more careful you wouldn't need to heal at all," Gray growled and Natsu gulped at the Erza-like expression on the other boy's face, wondering when his mate had decided to start channelling the red-haired mage and praying that this wasn't a permanent thing.

"So what? I should've just let you get injured?!" Natsu's voice was rising now as his own temper began to stir, eyes narrowing now as he scowled up at the ice mage. Why was the other mage making such a big deal out of this? It wasn't like he hadn't been injured before – both before and after they'd got together – and he didn't see why this was any different.

"YES!" Gray hissed furiously before turning on his heel and stalking out of the guild leaving a bewildered guild to gape after him. Natsu paled as his mate disappeared out of the guild, a pang of abandonment going through him and he hung his head to gaze down at his clenched fists as the other guild-members turned to look at him for an explanation. An explanation he didn't had, and it hurt to admit that he didn't understand what had upset his mate.

FT

"Natsu?" Mira asked gently moving over to the despondent fire mage with a worried frown on her face, which deepened as she spotted the bandages wrapped around his leg which made her recall how badly he'd been wincing when he moved.

"I made him mad," Natsu whispered quietly and she had to lean in to hear him, sighing she shot a glare at the rest of the guild which quickly prompted everyone to go back to their own business before she moved to sit next to him.

"What happened?" She asked softly as she nimbly began to undo the bandages to check on whatever injuries he had gained, noting with concern that he made no attempt to stop her – usually he tried to brush of her mothering, determined to stand on his own two feet. However, a quick look at his subdued profile and pale face told her that his thoughts were far away from his injury and her ministrations.

"We were fighting some mages and a stray blast hit the rock face above Gray," Natsu paused as he recalled the sheer terror he'd felt when he'd realised Gray couldn't move in time, biting his lip he shook his head to rid it of the image. "He couldn't dodge in time, so I knocked him out of the way," he finished, and the take-over mage frowned in confusion, wondering how that had resulted in the argument that they had just witnessed. She'd been expecting it to be more along the lines of Natsu being overly destructive and getting injured as a result of that.

Removing the last of the bandages she had to bite back a slight gasp as her eyes widened taking in the damage marring his leg. The entire lower part was a mass of dark bruises, with deep scrapes and myriad smaller cuts scattered across it in a painful pattern. There was faint evidence of healing on some of the scrapes, telling her that the original injury had been worse – and by the looks of it he was lucky not to have broken it; however, the state of it gave her some insight into the issue between the two boys.

"So you pushed him out of the way and you got hit by the rocks instead? She prompted as she gently examined the leg, ignoring his slight hiss of pain as she hit a particularly nasty spot. Satisfied that it would only need a brief clean before being rebandaged she glanced up, looking round until she spotted her brother, tilting her head at the discarded pile of bandages she silently asked him to get her the medical supplies. With a nod he headed off to get them, leaving her to focus on the argument between the two boys.

"I don't understand why he's so angry," Natsu said glancing up at her with confusion written across his face, "It would have been a lot worse if they'd landed on him." He paled just at the thought of it, the remembered fear welling up in him for a second before he forced it back – Gray was safe – that was the most important thing.

"He's blaming himself for you getting hurt," she replied gently and his eyes widened and he opened his mouth the vehemently protest, sighing she held up a hand to stop him and obediently he settled. "From his point of view you got hurt because of him, and he's taking it out on you because he's hurting," Mira explained gently, pausing as Elfman reappeared beside them depositing the first-aid kit before returning to the bar to give them privacy.

"But it wasn't his fault," Natsu protested, ignoring the sting as she deftly cleaned his leg. "I knew that I wasn't going to get completely out the way in time but I still did it, therefore if it's anyone's fault mine." There was no way that Gray was too blame, and he wasn't going to let anyone not even his idiotic mate think otherwise. Mira smiled at his fierce protectiveness, gently moving on to rebandaging the leg as she considered how to make him understand what Gray was feeling at the moment.

"I know it's not his fault, but it's hard for him to see it that way," she paused and looked at him. "How would you feel if he'd been hurt protecting you?" She smiled as he froze, his dark eyes widening as he took in her words and she knew that he had gotten her point.

Natsu scowled as recalled the panic that had welled in him a month ago when Gray had fallen ill after getting soaked on a day out, and the guilt he had felt for dragging to the other mage out in such lousy weather.

"But what do I do? He's really mad at me right now!" Natsu asked turning to gaze at her with a lost expression in his intense olive eyes, and she sighed at the pain in his expression - who could have imagined how much the boys would come to depend on one another. Still she knew that they needed to fix the current mess, the Master had interrogated the dragon slayers at length after the near disaster of their 'season' so that the guild could handle any future issues. And one facet that Gajeel had emphasised was the need for the dragon slayer's to keep their chosen happy – arguments, separations etc had to be resolved swiftly for the sake of their health. She was already witnessing the pain and distress even this slight issue was causing, and she frowned with concern before forcing it away and smiling at the anxious dragon-slayer.

"Now you go upstairs and rest, this leg doesn't need you moving around," she said standing up and he gazed up at her in disbelief. How was resting going to help sort out the issues between them? He opened his mouth to protest, when she once more raised her hand to cut off whatever he was about to say, but she gave him a reassuring smile.

"I'll go and talk to Gray, and once you've had some rest you can both talk this over, alright?" She said gently but with a firm undertone that reminded him that under her friendly nature she was still the same Mirajane that had terrified him when they were younger. With a sad sigh he nodded, seeing the sense in her words even if it conflicted with his desire to run off and find and comfort his mate. Gingerly he climbed to his feet, wincing as his leg protested the movement and taking a second to make sure he didn't take an undignified fall to the floor.

"Thanks Mira," he said quietly before limping unsteadily towards the stairs, completely unaware of the concerned glances being thrown in his direction as he kept his eyes firmly fixed on the floor.

FT

"Elfman watch the bar," the take-over mage called to her brother once the fire-mage had disappeared upstairs, as soon as her brother nodded in agreement she headed out the front door in search of a certain idiotic ice mage. They certainly made a pair of dunderheads she mused as she walked down the street, they both spent way too much time worrying about the other and whenever something like this happened they both exploded – leading to angry words. She was glad that Levy and Gajeel were a lot more relaxed about their relationship, although part of that was that they tended to avoid the large-scale battles that the two boys got involved in.

FT

As expected she found Gray down at the river bank, it was one of Natsu's favourite places and the two boys had spent a lot of time there together since they'd started going out. Seeing the dark expression on his face as he stared at the water she sighed, he really was an idiot; she had to smirk briefly though at the thought of what Erza would do to the pair of them is she was around at the moment. Her one-time rival was not best known for her patience with their idiocy, she was more likely to slam their heads together and order them to get on; unfortunately that approach wasn't likely to work at the moment.

"You really upset him you know?" She asked quietly as she moved to sit beside him, smothering a giggle as he jumped violently having clearly been lost in a world of his own. He glanced at her briefly and she saw the same pain in his onyx eyes for a second before his gaze snapped back to the river in an attempt to avoid her knowing gaze. She stayed silent watching as various emotions flitted across his face, knowing that he would respond in his own time.

"I didn't mean to," he said softly after a couple of minutes his gaze not leaving the water, and she noted how his hands clenched into fists.

"I know that and so does he," she replied gently, she knew that it wasn't worth telling him how confused and lost the other boy had been. It would only add to the guilt on both sides, and that would exacerbate the conflict something she was desperate to avoid. "He's more worried about you than upset."

"He shouldn't be worrying about me," Gray's voice rose abruptly in anger, but just as suddenly he deflated and slumped against his knees, arms wrapping tightly around himself. "I hate it when he gets hurt, and then the idiot just goes and throws himself under falling rocks!" His voice rose again as the terror of hearing Natsu cry out in pain replayed in his chest, his eyes blank as he remembered the pain on Natsu's face.

"He feels just the same," Mira smiled as the ice mage looked at her with narrowed eyes. "He can't bear it when you get hurt, especially when he knows he can prevent it. He knew exactly what he was doing, he knew that he would get hurt but he did it because he wanted to and because he knew that he could handle it. "

"But…" Gray began to protest but was cut off.

"Natsu's always been like that when his nakama are involved, you know that," she admonished gently. "Did you really expect that to change? Besides you know as well as I that his dragon instincts won't allow harm to come to you, you can't expect him to ignore that part of him."

"I know," Gray whispered; and he did know, he knew what Natsu was like when those he cared about were in danger. He also knew better than anyone how much Natsu needed him to be okay, safe and happy; had witnessed the panic that inflicted the other boy when he'd been injured or ill. "But it goes both ways, I want to keep him safe too." _I need to keep him safe_ he added to himself, it had shocked him to realise just how much he needed the flame-brained idiot to be okay.

"I know that and so does Natsu. He know that next time he's in danger you're just as likely to throw yourself in harm's way to protect him. You both share that fear," Mira said softly and Gray nodded mutely, knowing that she was right and wishing that they had acknowledged this before anything had happened. "You need to go and talk to him, you both need to understand this," she added with a touch of steel in her voice.

"What if he's mad at me though? Or doesn't want to see me?" The ice mage asked reminding the take-over mage of a child, and she had to bite back a sigh…seriously these two were a pair of idiots. Lovable ones, but idiots none the less.

"This is Natsu we're speaking about…" She said with mild exasperation and he blinked before nodding his head with more than a hint of embarrassment before clambering to his feet.

"Thanks Mira," Gray said as he set off back to the guild, leaving the other mage to stare after him with a faint smile before settling down to enjoy the sun pleased with the knowledge that things were going to get sorted between the two.

FTFT

Gray ignored the curious looks and questions as he entered the guild, heading straight for the stairs with a determined expression, although inside he was quivering with tension and fear. Despite Mira's certainty that Natsu wouldn't turn him away, he knew that the other boy had more than enough reason to do so after his unreasonable reaction/

"Natsu?" Gray asked softly as he stepped nervously into the infirmary, he half-expected a fire-ball to come shooting in his direction and he clenched his hands defensively just in case. However, the only response his quiet query received was a soft, rumbling snore that drew his gaze to the furthest bed, his eyes softening as he spotted the distinctive salmon-pink hair against the white of the bedding. Quietly he padded across the room until he reached the bed, eyes narrowing with concern as he took in the slight pain on the sleeping mage's face; but more disturbing, was the faint redness around the other's eyes and the drawn expression that lingered even in sleep.

Carefully he pulled the covers over the sleeping mage before sinking onto the bed, eyes fixated on the dragon-slayer. Watching as the other shifted uneasily in his sleep he let his mind drift back to the root of their current situation.

_It took all his determination to ignore the slight noises that indicated the pain he was causing his boyfriend as he shifted the rocks away from him. He couldn't afford to be distracted now, and as much as he was hurting the other, he knew it would be worse if they waited any longer. Finally he shifted the final rock that had been holding Natsu trapped in place, and with a growl he tossed it safely aside before turning his attention to examining what danger had been inflicted. _

"_Damn," he cursed angrily his eyes darkening as he took in the damage marring the other boy's leg, absently noting that it could've…should've been worse. However, in that moment he didn't feel like being grateful for that fact._

"_Ow," Natsu mumbled twisting and forcing himself into a sitting position despite Gray's growled orders to stay still. "Doesn't feel broken," the fire-mage said cheerfully as he shifted the leg slightly, although his pain twisted into a grimace as he moved the limb._

"_Idiot stop moving," Gray ordered unable to believe how the other could act so blissfully cheerful. Didn't he realise how close he had come to being crushed beneath the rocks? How close to even more serious injury or death he had been? The ice-mage felt his heart clench in agony at the very thought of losing the other boy, and to his horror he felt tears threatening to fall…_

With a whispered curse Gray forced himself back into the present, quickly swiping at his eyes in irritation as he felt fresh moisture threatening to escape. Damn Natsu for messing up his emotions like this he thought irritably, however, a glance at the sleeping dragon-slayer quickly undid his annoyance and he felt a small smile play on his slips as Natsu shifted slightly and buried his head into the pillow. Fondly the ice-mage reached out to run his fingers through the silky pink, reassuring himself once more that the other mage was fine.

Moments later the dragon-slayer began to stir, his nose twitching as he registered his mate's scent, the lingering trace of cold and ice making the olive eyes shoot open. Gray winced as he read the raw emotion and painful hope in the eyes that latched onto him, before he could try and ease the pain had caused the other mage looked away without a word. The ice mage frowned guiltily at the action, and could only watch silently as the fire mage struggled into an upright position mindful of his leg – Gray wanted to help but was unsure of how such an action would be taken at the moment.

"I'm sorry Natsu," Gray said softly when Natsu made no move to speak or look at him, however at his words, wide olive eyes turned back towards him and surprise mixed with the pain in his gaze as he stared at the ice mage.

"Why? You didn't do anything wrong, I…"

"You were trying to protect me!" Gray cut across the dragon slayer as he saw that the other boy was about to try and take the blame himself, flummoxed as to how Natsu could be so forgiving after what he had said and done. "I shouldn't have yelled at you…and I shouldn't have just left you alone," he added fiercely, self-recrimination ringing in his voice.

"Why did you?" Natsu asked softly a plaintive expression on his face as he stared at the other boy; he knew what Mira had said, but he wanted to know exactly what had upset his mate…so he could avoid doing so again.

"I…You scared me," Gray admitted with a sigh. "All I could see and hear was you pushing me out of the way, and then you yelling out when the rocks hit you. And all I could think was that if you'd been even a minute slower then you could have been…" He couldn't finish the sentence and instead he trailed off into silence staring down at his hands, absently noting that they were trembling slightly. He jumped slightly when a warm pair of hands grasped his, and slowly he looked up to meet Natsu's eyes – startled by the warmth and forgiveness he could see in the expressive orbs.

"I'm still here," Natsu said softly before nodding towards his leg. "I've had worse than this before and I've always been fine. You don't have to worry so much okay?"

"But…I…" Gray sighed. "Just promise me that you won't do something so reckless again?!" He was taken aback by the small chuckle that met his words and he glared at his boyfriend with a small surge of anger rising in his chest, which halted as he took in the fond expression on the other's face.

"Don't go asking for promises neither of us can keep," Natsu replied with a small smile, his voice and eyes soft as he looked up at the other boy. "As soon as either of us are in danger again, the other one is going to do something reckless that's just the way of things. We did it when we were just friends, so of course we're going to do it now."

Gray smiled at this, a proper smile that reached his eyes and made the onyx eyes sparkle – he knew that Natsu was right, he was being silly to ask for such a promise. Fear still groped at him as he thought of the other boy being injured again, but he couldn't deny the truth in the other boy's words.

"Fine, then at least promise me you'll be as careful as you can be?" The ice mage asked and Natsu smiled, the last remnants of pain disappearing from his eyes.

"As long as you do the same," he admonished without any heat, although Gray knew that the dragon-slayer was being deadly serious.

"It's a promise," he said firmly reaching out and grasping Natsu's hand.

FTFTFTFT


	6. Chapter 6

FTFT

Gray shifted as he drifted towards awareness, one arm reaching out as he noticed the lack of the usual warmth pressed against him. A frown marred his face as his fingers came up empty and the sheets were cool to the touch, blinking he rolled over and his frown deepened as his eyes confirmed what his fingers said...the rest of the bed was empty. Rolling onto his back he stared at the ceiling for a moment pondering, it was the first since they'd gotten together that he'd woken up alone and he couldn't help the anxiety that sparked within him.

Rolling over he scrambled to his feet reaching for a shirt which he yanked on abruptly before heading out of the door. His anxiety grew as he stepped into the empty living room and registered that there was no sound in the kitchen or bathroom.

"Natsu?" He called even though he knew that the apartment was empty and he scowled at the responding silence. Casting his mind back to the previous evening he tried to recall if there had been anything off about his boyfriend, but Natsu had just been as noisy and cheerful as ever. With a sigh he headed back towards the bedroom, he'd get dressed and head to the guild, as that was the best place to find his wayward fire-mage.

FTFT

"Morning Gray," Mira said cheerfully as she saw the ice mage slip into the guildhall, surprised showing on her face as she realised that he was alone. "Where's Natsu?" She asked hoping they hadn't had a fight, although he didn't seem to be too angry, however, her concern deepened as she saw worry flash across his face in response to her question.

"You haven't seen him this morning?" He asked his eyes darkening as she shook her head. "He wasn't there when I woke up this morning, and I've checked his house as well." She could hear the undercurrents of worry in his voice, and she noted the way his hands clenched tightly at his side.

"Did you have a fight?" She didn't think they had, but she had to ask especially knowing how dense the pair could be at times.

"No everything was fine, we just had a normal night and we were planning on taking on a job in the next few days," Gray said grimly, the take-over mage saw the growing anxiety in his eyes and reached out to place a comforting hand on his arm.

"We'll find him," she said with a small smile. "Have you tried Lucy's? Or Fairy Hills?" When he shook his head in the negative she nodded decisively. "Alright you go and check with Lucy although make sure you go through the door," she teased. "And I'll go and check in with Wendy, and Erza if she's back."

"Thanks Mira," Gray actually managed a smile as she pulled him towards the door, but concern still pricked at him, why had Natsu left so early? And not left a note or message to tell him where he was; the other boy always went out of his way to make sure Gray didn't worry about him – which was only serving to increase his concern at this time.

FTFT

Lucy hadn't seem Natsu since the previous day, and Gray wanted to shout with fustration. However, he bit back his irritation and declined her offer to help; if he'd done something to upset Natsu then he had to be the one to find the flame-brained idiot. Biding her a farewell, and regretting the fact that she was now worried, he headed back in the direction of Fairy Hills hoping that Mira might have had more luck.

FTFT

"Gray today's the seventh of July," Erza said softly and onyx eyes widened in horror as her words sank in, before darting across to the chart on the wall confirming that it was indeed that date. With a shuddering sigh he sank onto the chair burying his head in his hands, groaning internally at his stupidity.

"How could I forget?" He muttered softly, he had never forgotten before...they always knew how much this day hurt Natsu, it was the only day that the outgoing mage would willingly spend in seclusion hiding away from his Nakama. Even last year with Wendy and Gajeel in the guild he had spent the day alone.

"I forgot as well," Erza said in an equally soft voice and he looked up to meet her own pained eyes. "It was only when Happy and Charle came to tell me that Wendy wanted to be alone that I remembered."

"But I'm his boyfriend...I'm his mate," Gray protested, flinching as the requip mage sprang to her feet her eyes intense as she glowered down at him.

"Then go and find him rather than moping around," she said fiercely. "We all forgot, even Wendy had forgotten until yesterday. What is important now is that he knows you are there for him." Taking a deep breath the ice mage nodded and got to his feet.

"Thank you," he said gratefully and the red-head sent him a watery smile.

"Go find that idiot, I'll take care of Wendy." With a brief nod he headed out of the door, and Erza sighed as she turned to head back to take care of the youngest dragon-slayer hoping that the two boys would be okay.

FTFT

Gray groaned as he stepped out of Fairy Hills to discover that the weather had taken a turn for the worse glowering at the rain. Gritting his teeth he ventured out into the wet deciding to swing by his apartment to grab a coat, his mind running agilely over places that Natsu might have chosen to hole up in. He was still cursing himself both forgetting what this day was, but also for never having tried to follow Natsu in previous years...it didn't help that Natsu knew every inch of Magnolia and the surrounding area, often choosing to hide away when he was younger and still trying to come to grips with Igneel's disappearance.

FT

After grabbing a jacket from his apartment he made a beeline for the river hoping that the fire mage might have taken to one of their haunts. However, their usual spot was empty and he growled to himself, clearly Natsu wasn't going to make this easy for him. Looking up at the tree he scowled as he tried to work out where the other boy would be, slamming his fist against the tree as he realized it could take forever to track the fire mage down. But he also knew that he couldn't get the others to help, Natsu needed it to be him who found him, and he was the only one that the dragon-slayer would let near him when he was this upset.

Scowling he turned away from the tree and took off, he'd check Gildarts house first and then try the hut where the fire-mage used to play with Lisanna...he tried not to think about not finding Natsu at either place.

FT

Several hours later and Gray was ready to have a nervous breakdown. He had searched everywhere he could think of, every place that he knew Natsu frequented, every place they had ever fought or gone to both as friends and mates. Entering the park he wandered over to the Sakura tree that Natsu had once unearthed for Lucy and slumped at its base ignoring the fact that he was already soaked to the skin as he stared up at the branches over his head.

He had no idea where Natsu was and that bothered him more than he could say, he had known the other boy for years and they had been dating for months and yet here he was completely incapable of finding him.

"Where are you?" He whispered to the sky onyx eyes glistening as he tried desperately to come up with where else he could search, aware of the darkening sky above him. Suddenly his eyes widened as a memory drifted back to him.

_"I hate him," the angry shouts drifted through the air, and the ice mage followed the sound cautiously aware that he had more than overstepped the line with the other boy. Rubbing a hand over his head he winced as he brushed against the spot where Erza had brained him in punishment, and this time he knew he'd been in the wrong._

_Loud thuds replaced the angry shouts, and as Gray warily stepped out of the trees he felt his eyes widen. The pink-haired fire mage was laying into a large oak tree with flaming fists, and as Gray stepped closer he realized that the other boy had taped a crude drawing of him to the tree and he winced. Suddenly he froze as a twig crunched loudly under his feet, onyx eyes wide as the other boy whirled with a furious growl, fury in the narrowed olive eyes that bore into him._

_"Why are you here?" Natsu voice was harsh and Gray flinched at the loathing he could hear in that voice._

_"I came to apologize," Gray said softly forcing himself to meet the angry gaze that was boring into him, desperately fighting the desire to step away from the searing heat that was coming off the other._

_"Go away," Natsu growled and Gray flinched back as fresh flames erupted around the other boy's fists, however, what stopped the ice mage from running for cover was the sight of tears in the olive eyes and the pain that was poorly hidden beneath the anger._

_"Natsu I'm sorry," Gray said as he dredgred up his courage and stepped towards the other boy. "I''m sorry, I know what today is and,.."_

_"Don't just don't."_

_"Natsu..."_

_"DON'T," Natsu snarled whirling around and lashing out at the tree with flaming fists as his tears began to fall in earnest, and Gray realized that he wasn't going to get through to the other boy at the moment. Silently the ice mage slipped back into the trees, the sight of flames licking at the oak tree burning itself into his mind..._

Gray jolted to his feet the image of the burning tree flashing before his eyes as he cursed himself for forgetting that place. It had been one of the worst arguments they'd ever had, and it had taken almost a month for the dragon slayer to even acknowledge his presence after he'd left him in the woods; and Erza had constantly been on his case as well. It didn't bode well if Natsu had chosen that as his refuge the one year that Gray had forgotten the date of Igneel's disappearance and as he took off at a run the ice mage sent up a silent appeal that the other wasn't going to push him away.

FTFT

Gray felt his heart clench as as his eyes fell on the disheveled figure huddled at the base of the tree. The Dragon-slayer was unaware of his presence, his head buried against his knees, with soaked bangs hanging low. The ice mage opened his mouth but a soft whimpering sob froze the words before they could leave his mouth and he closed his eyes briefly as he felt the other's pain. Reopening his eyes he moved forward quietly, crouching down when he reached Natsu the nearly silent sobbing coming from the other making the ache in his heart grow.

"Oh Natsu," he whispered softly as he wrapped his arms firmly around Natsu, ignoring the anguished cry that the other boy released in response. "I'm so sorry that I forgot what today was," he murmured as he began to gently rock the other, feeling a surge of relief when slowly Natsu's arms wrapped around him in return the familiar warmth comforting after the day apart.

"I forgot too," the broken whisper was barely audible over the rain but Gray heard and he pulled back to peer at Natsu making sure to keep one arm wrapped around him.  
"Natsu?" He prompted gently when the other boy didn't continue, wishing that he could see the other's face, even though he didn't want to see the pain that he knew would be in those beautiful olive eyes.

"I'd been so wrapped up in jobs...and us that I'd forgotten, I actually forgot...How could I forget Gray? How could I? What kind of son does that make me?..."

"Shh Natsu," Gray interrupted the increasingly hysterical rant, and slowly the other boy lifted his head slightly away from his knees to peer at the ice mage from under his bangs. The pain and guilt in those olive eyes almost brought Gray to tears and his arm tightened around Natsu protectively. "It isn't your fault."

"But.."

"But nothing," Gray said firmly and he reached out with his other hand to lift Natsu's face so that the fire mage had to look at him. "We all forgot Natsu, all of us, even Wendy had forgotten until yesterday. This year has been one of never-ending ups and downs, sometimes the past just has to take a backseat, that's just the way of life." Natsu opened his mouth as though to protest, but seeing the sincerity and love in the onyx eyes that were fixated on him he slowly let it close, instead he leant into the hand on his face drawing on the strength and love it was sending him.

Gray smiled slightly at the reaction, relieved beyond belief that Natsu was listening to him and allowing him to offer him comfort. Briefly he allowed his thoughts to drift back to the memory that had driven him here; he couldn't believe how far they'd managed to come in the years since then, but he was glad that they have. Pulling himself back to the present he discovered that Natsu had shifted so that his head was resting on the ice mage's shoulder, his gaze fixed on some distant point. Sighing, the ice mage glanced up at the sky, scowling at the continued downpour as he realized that they really needed to head home and get dried off before they got ill.

"Lets go home okay?" He said softly and after a long moment Natsu nodded slightly, giving the fire mage an encouraging smile the ice mage got to his feet and held out his hand waiting patiently as Natsu gazed up at him before slowly taking the offered hand. Wordlessly Gray pulled him to his feet and immediately wrapped an arm around his boyfriend, scowling as he felt the shivers that had begun to wrack Natsu's body and he had to bite back the urge the scold the other boy for choosing to sit in the rain for hours; somehow he didn't think that would go down to well. Then his scowl deepened as it occured to him that even that shouldn't be enough to have stripped the boy of his ability to stay warm, he was a fire mage for god's sake. Silently cursing his idiocy he quickly shrugged out of his coat and draped it over Natsu, pulling it closed as the other boy made no move to do so.

Gently he steered Natsu away from the tree and back towards Magnolia, noting that the further they travelled the more the other boy leant against him. He was tempted just to take them back to his, but he had the sense that Natsu needed to be at home tonight even if it was further away.

"Come on Natsu let me carry you," Gray eventually pleaded with the stubborn dragon-slayer his eyes full of concern as he tried to keep Natsu upright, after long moments of trying to keep his feet Natsu gave a reluctant nod causing the ice mage to sigh with relief. Swiftly before the other boy could change his mind Gray pulled Natsu onto his back, having to encourage the other to hold on, when Natsu had made no move to secure himself. As soon as his mate was secured he broke into a jog, not wanting to waste any time in getting Natsu inside and dry.

FTFTFFT

"Here drink this," Gray ordered as he passed the shivering dragon slayer a mug of hot chocolate, before settling down beside him with his own drink. He was thankful that the cold didn't bother him, although he had to admit as he sipped his drink that warmth was growing on him, dark eyes slipping across to Natsu at that thought.

"Thank you," Natsu said softly as he took a cautious sip of the drink, his eyes fixated on the fireplace, a melancholy expression on his face. With a repressed sigh Gray shifted his mug into one hand and carefully wrapped his newly freed arm around the Dragon-slayer, lips twitching in an attempt at a smile as Natsu immediately snuggled against him. It was a sign that all was well between them at least. "How did you work out where I was?" Natsu asked quietly, tilting his head to peer at his Mate.

"I remembered that time when I upset you about Igneel on the 7th," Gray said somewhat reluctantly, unwilling to drag up unpleasant memories for the other when Natsu was already upset, and feeling a slight resurgence of the guilt that had plagued him back then. As though sensing this Natsu's hand snaked up to grasp the one wrapped around him, squeezing gently.

"I always went there when I was upset," Natsu said, his voice so quiet that Gray had to tilt his head closer to hear, noting that the fire mage had returned his attention to the fireplace. "It reminded me of the place in the forest where Igneel found me," his voice grew softer as he spoke of his adopted father, and Gray instinctively tightened his hold. He understood now why Natsu had chosen that place, and he was relieved that it wasn't related to that past argument.

"You go there because it would be the perfect place for him to return to you?" The ice mage asked gently, feeling Natsu stiffen in his hold, but the other made no move to escape. For several long moments they remained like that before Natsu finally nodded, sinking in on himself, and moving closer to Gray.

"I know it's silly."

"It's not silly," Gray immediately denied, refusing to allow the other boy to think that he had anything to be ashamed of. How many times had he tried to imagine himself in Natsu's shoes? Especially since they had become mates, and he had begun to understand what made Dragon-slayers tick. He honestly didn't know if he could cope as well as the trio did, the uncertainty alone would probably be enough to do him in. The fact that unless they came across some link or clue to their parents disappearance, they only fell apart on this one day, impressed the hell out of him, and he wished that Natsu could see that. "It's good to have a place that you can go to," he added, and for a second his thoughts drifted to Ur, he had always regretted that there was no memorial or marker for her. Sure he could always be close to her if they were near the ocean, but it would've been nice to have a place… lost in his thoughts he failed to notice the concerned eyes that were watching him, nor the calculating look that briefly filled them.

"Thank you," Natsu said finally, freeing Gray from his melancholy thoughts. Realizing that Natsu had finished his drink, Gray quickly drained the dregs of his own drink before making to stand up, thinking that they could both do with an early night. However, Natsu held him in place making Gray look at him in concern, especially given that the fire-mage had hidden behind his bangs once more.

"Natsu?"

"Can we stay here?" Natsu mumbled and Gray smiled and nodded, and then realized that the other boy probably couldn't see.

"Of course," he comforted, wrapping his arms around Natsu and gently maneuvering them so that they were laid comfortably on the couch. As soon as they were settled Natsu's arms snaked around him in response, and the fire-mage moved his head so that it was resting above Gray's heart, the soft noise comforting the Dragon-slayer. Pressing his lips into the pink hair, Gray relaxed as the final tension from waking up alone and spending the day searching for his wayward boyfriend finally drained out of him at this tangible proof that they were together. Closing his eyes he clutched the other boy closer, "I love you Natsu," he murmured softly, and Natsu shifted slightly in his hold.

"I love you too," Natsu replied just as softly a moment later, and the ice mage gave a contented sigh before drifting off; followed closely by the Dragon-slayer.

FTFTFT


End file.
